Market Scene

The painting is an Ecce Homo fragment. Similarly to other biblical paintings of Aertsen, the biblical event takes place at the back, while the foreground is dominated by a market scene.. Somewhere in the background, the picture - cut off at the top - affords a small glimpse of the platform where the masses are shouting ‘Barabbas’ (John 19:4-6). This is optically overlaid by the bow-shaped arrangement of carts and market stalls - a reversal of emphasis which is typical of Aertsen.